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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · straw · pit · mate · capital · charge · race · field

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. charge — in control
  3. pit — in a race
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — a subject
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — the arms race
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — a hole
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mate — a partner
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com